Family
by Mollie Reynold
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn. Written for the Peace, Love, TWILIGHT! contest. Leah's POV
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**__** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

Family

By Mollie Renaud

**Chapter 1: Leah PoV**

I woke up in, as Seth calls it, one of my "moods". These "moods" make it slightly harder for me not to phase, but I was getting better. I hadn't phased in almost 3 months now. That was definitely a record for anyone in the current packs.

"Hey Leah, you up yet?" Seth shouted down the hall

.

"If I wasn't I sure am now!" I yelled back.

"Sorry- I just wanted to let you know that I'm going over to the Cullen's to see Jake and Edward and the rest of them for a while, so I won't be home until late, ok?"

"Ok. I'll tell Mom when she gets back from Charlie's."

"Thanks" I heard the front door slam a few seconds later. As I walked down the hall, my thoughts strayed back to how good I was getting at controlling my temper now. Even Sam wasn't at this point yet. I wondered if Jacob had been right when he said that my "female stuff" would pick back up when I stopped phasing for a longer period of time. If it hadn't by now, I was pretty sure it never would. I sighed. What was wrong with me? Did I do something to deserve this? To never be able to have kids; to imprint, or at least just fall in love? I didn't know, couldn't think of anything. I continued along this line of thought as I ate my breakfast, a huge bowl of Cheerios. Much better than deer any day.

I walked out of the house right as Mom pulled up. She parked the car and got out. She walked halfway over to me before stopping and said "Leah, can you come inside for a minute? I need to talk to you." We walked inside, and sat at the kitchen table. She looked really nervous.

"What's wrong Mom? Is everything ok?" I asked anxiously.

"Everything is fine Leah, nothing's wrong. Where's Seth?"

I wasn't convinced. She still looked nervous. "He went over to the Cullen's for a while- said he wouldn't be back until late. Why? What's going on Mom?"

"Leah, honey, relax, this is important."

"Mom can you just tell me already- I'm going to be late for Meditation and Yoga." Meditation and Relaxation was one of the few classed I was taking this semester at Peninsula Community College. I didn't have too many other classes right now, since I was just concentrating on controlling my temper better. After I mastered that I could move on to academics.

"Leah, Charlie asked me to marry him." She blurted out suddenly.

Whoa. Totally did not see that one coming. I mean, I knew something was happening between Charlie and my mom, you'd have to be blind not to see that, but really, _marriage_!? It was a little soon for that didn't they think? I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I closed it again. What could I say to that? I like Charlie, I like him a lot, but I didn't know if I like him that much. But I did want Mom to be happy.

"Leah?" Mom asked. She looked worried again. "Are you ok? I mean, I can always tell him I changed my mind if you're not ok with it , I'd-"

"Mom." I cut her off. Surely she didn't think I was that selfish, that I would want her to call off her wedding just because I didn't like the guy. Which I actually did like him. "It's ok, it's fine, it just shocked me, that's all. You told him yes right?" It might be a little strained for a while, but if Charlie Swan made my mom happy, then I could live with it.

"Yes, I said yes, but I'm sure he'd understand-"

"Mom, really, it's fine with me and I'm sure Seth will be happy too. As long as you're happy, that's what matters." Wow, had I really just said that?

"Leah…" She trailed off, tears welling up in her eyes. She walked over and hugged me. It was the first time we'd had a real mother/daughter moment in a long time.

"So you'll have to show me the ring later, ok? I've got to go before I'm late for Meditation."

"Ok honey, I'll see you later. I love you."

"Bye Mom, I love you too."

I jogged out of the house, mindlessly pulling my bag over my shoulder, and grabbing my keys from the hook by the door. After I was about halfway there my thoughts started to become coherent again. I really was happy for my mom and Charlie. I like Charlie Swan a lot, it was his daughter I wasn't so fond of. At least, that was how I used to feel. I wasn't sure how I felt about her now though. In the past few months, I had gotten to know her a lot better, seeing as Jake was over there all the time now seeing Renesmee. But I still couldn't get past the fact that she had given up her life, her humanity, for an eternity as a vampire, a cold-hearted rock. But aside from that, she was a relatively nice person so I guess I would just have to get over my old issues with her and try to get along if we were going to be 'sisters' in a few months. With that thought in my head, I walked into Meditation and Yoga 1.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I came out of the Yoga building in a very good mood. Today had been the best day of classes so far. For the past few weeks, we had just been studying meditation techniques and some basic yoga moves, and just taking notes in general. Today we had finally begun to put all of that into practice and I was pretty good at it: being a werewolf (or shape shifter, technically, I guess) gives you pretty good flexibility. I was still thinking about this and yoga in general when I reached my car. It wasn't a great car, just an old 1991 Honda Civic. Just as I was about to get in the car, the winds changed and a scent reached my nose that made my blood freeze. Vampires. The stench was extremely strong, so I glanced around, to see if there was anything unusual going on. Then I saw them. Just two of them, both males. The one on the left was slightly shorter than the other one but other than that, they looked like twins: the same hair, build, face, etc. Their smell was one I didn't think I recognized, but with Jake and Seth being so close, emotionally, to the Cullens I didn't want to take the chance of attacking one of their friends. I debated for a few minutes, before deciding to break my streak of not phasing and see what Jake or Seth knew, and if I could find out anything more about these unfamiliar bloodsuckers. As I got in my car to drive to a nearby park to phase, I glanced at them again and saw something I should have seen the first time: piercing red eyes. Well I guess that meant they probably weren't friends of the Cullens. I drove a mile or so away from the campus to phase in the forest that was near the road, deciding against the national park, knowing I would need to be as close as possible . As soon as I changed, I could feel Seth and Jake's surprise. They hadn't had to share minds with me for over three months, and had full confidence in my temper now so they were immediately on their guard. 

_Leah what's wrong? _Jake asked, _Is everything alright? _

_Leah! _Seth exclaimed_. Did you hear about Mom and Charlie? Isn't it going to be awe- _

_Seth! _I thought-shouted. _Shut up for a minute! This is an emergency! _

_Leah, what is it? _Jake demanded, impatient with worry.

_I was leaving class and there were two bloodsuckers on the edge of the parking lot, both with bright red eyes. They looked like they were looking for a snack or something. I'm heading back there now- I had to drive a little ways away to phase. I didn't know if they were friends of the Cullens or something so I didn't attack them-yet anyways-but if they try to hurt someone I-_

_They're not with the Cullens._ Jake cut me off. _Leah, don't try to take on two of them by yourself- you'll get hurt and that wouldn't do any good at all. Seth and I are on our way, and Quil and Embry can be there in a few minutes if we need them, but wait for us, ok?_

_Ok fine, but if they try to hurt someone-_

_If they try to hurt someone, you can distract them, but don't go for the kill until we're in range to help. Got it?_

_Yeah, Yeah, fine. _I was back at campus now. From what I could see, they hadn't moved yet. I could hear them talking over possible choices for their snack. Ughhh. 

"Brandon, I'm telling you the blonde is not a good idea-too conspicuous. Let's go for the couple over there- the one by the SUV. They look good."

"When you say 'good' you mean quiet. I want some fun food for once. The blonde looks like a screamer."

"Which is exactly why we're not going for her. Try to keep it in mind that we have to stay inconspicuous, please."

"Fine, fine. We'll do it your way. Boring and unexciting. Really, Aaron, you need to get a sense of humor. Maybe you can pick one up the next time we're getting new clothes or something. It would be a great burden off my shoulders."

"Hardy-har-har. You're just a crack-up bro. Maybe we should pick you up a sense of responsibility or something though. That might be more practical. Anyways, come on, let's get something to eat."

_This is it_, I thought, _I can't wait for you guys any longer, I've _got to _distract them_. 

We're almost there, Leah. Seth thought, excited.

_Be careful. _Jake thought, worried.

It only took me a few seconds to run around the parking lot, positioning myself directly behind them. 

"Hey Aaron do you smell that?"

"Smell what- _Oh that_- wow, what is that?! It smells awful- worse than that guy in Seattle. Ughhh."

I wasn't sure how bad _that guy in Seattle _smelled but it couldn't be worse than what those two smelled like. I'd smelled a lot of vampires in my time as a werewolf (shape shifter), but these two were pretty bad. Like rotting garbage. Revolting. They continued to move closer to the girls, who I could now see were heading towards a large, green SUV that was on the very edge of the parking lot. If the bloodsuckers were quick enough, no one would even know what had just happened, not even the two girls, who were now only a few hundred feet from their car. Just then, Jake and Seth arrived. _What's the plan? _I asked.

_I'm going to make a quick circle to block them and try to drive them back deeper into the forest, where you and Seth come in. We'll be trying not to attract attention, so try to keep it quiet, ok?_

_Ok._

_Sure- I got it. _I wasn't sure how to keep them quiet, but I could try, I guess. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was easier than I had thought it would be. I had never actually fought an older, more skilled vampire before, just the newborns that one time. I wouldn't go as far as saying it was fun, but it wasn't dull either. We had taken out the small coven in less than ten minutes. We had had to carry the pieces a ways away before we could burn them, but Quil and Embry came and helped out so that didn't take long either. I had phased back as soon as I could, because I didn't want to leave my car on the side of the road. Jake and Seth were meeting me at the Cullen's house, to discuss how much we should tell Mom about this. I didn't think that we should tell anything, really. She was so happy right now, with Charlie, and I didn't want to ruin that. Seth and Jacob thought we should tell her what happened, but I suspected Seth's choice had more to do with wanting to brag about it, instead of the responsibility he claimed it to be about. Oh well: either way I was outnumbered.

I pulled up to the big, white house deep in the woods a couple of hours later. Jake, Seth, Bella, with Renesmee, Edward, and Sam were on the front steps waiting for me.

"Took you long enough Leah, we've been waiting for hours!" Seth told me.

"Well, I'm sorry my car isn't as fast as you guys." I joked. Like they could expect me to get here sooner than them.

"Leah, you didn't answer my question before- did you hear about Mom and Charlie!? Isn't it going to be awesome?!" Seth was about to explode with happiness.

Looking behind him, I smiled, replying, "Yeah, Seth, I heard." Bella smiled back at me, the little half-vampire in her arms smiling too. Renesmee pressed her hand against Bella's cheek and smiled up at her, then back at me again. Bella raised her eyebrows at me, holding Renesmee out slightly, asking me if I wanted to hold her. I had never held her before, not sure of what I felt, but now I stepped towards her with my arms outstretched, as she reached for me, too. As soon as she was securely in my arms, she pushed her small, hot hand against my cheek, and a brilliant image filled my mind. Me and her, reading, talking, just hanging out. Along with the picture, there was one word that she thought: family.


End file.
